Yeah, also it is not particularly cool after you sold that you need to go at Google to work on this stuff. I mean... ok... after some year the vesting period expires and you are rich and goodbye, but in some way after the acquisition you became a "worker" for Google with much less freedom than before: this sucks.
It's standard procedure to go work at the acquirer after getting bought. I did it myself. It's not so bad. Having just become rich tends to put you in a pretty cheerful mood, which makes all the everyday annoyances of working at a big co slide off you. Plus Google is probably the most hacker-compatible of all big cos.
Plus Google is probably the most hacker-compatible of all big cos.
Maybe N years ago when google was a little startup. In every big company there is the rule that you need to do a specific stuff, and this is the worst thing that an hacker can suffer, at least in my experience: all the hackers I know tend to switch domain every few months, just the time to understand "how it works".
If Google's going to pay me X million dollars or even X million GOOGs, I'd be more than happy working there until the integration is complete.
How long does this typically last?
Usually you get some kind of incentive to work for the acquirer for 1 to 4 years, median 3.
Yikes, that's awfully long... Is it reasonably negotiable? Are there fields where this is not true?
"... in some way after the acquisition you became a "worker" for Google with much less freedom ..."
In some ways post - acquisition isn't, 'job-done'. It makes more sense to see the task through integration in the new company. It is still your baby and I'll bet anyone working on it would see it that way. At the same time It would make sense also to give yourself a cut-off date working for soft-co.
I was wondering about this as well, then I read this post. It must have an impact on the 'engineers' who work there having groups of buyouts with vesting periods and larger payouts. There must be some level of resentment (it's human nature). How does google manage this?